Background::
Ghee or ‘ghrita’ is considered as the food fit for Gods and occupies a premier position among the milk products produced in India since time immemorial. Currently India represents both the world’s largest producer and consumer of ghee with about 30-35% of the milk annually produced in India was converted into ghee. Inspite of this, high fat dairy products like ghee losing its popularity due to the consumer’s concern regarding high fat content, risk of CHD, atherosclerosis, obesity etc. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate and tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) are often used in ghee to prevent oxidative deterioration. However, scientific studies have shown that application of synthetic antioxidants in foods may cause liver damage and been responsible for carcinogenesis. It is therefore, necessary to explore the possibilities of using naturally occurring antioxidant to safe guard the health of the consumer from prolong ingestion of chemical additives like BHA , TBHQ etc.:
Technology Details::
Although turmeric has been used in ayurvedic medicine since ancient times in various medical applications, no information is available concerning the application of curcumin, the natural pigment found in turmeric as a natural antioxidants in ghee for preventing auto-oxidation and prolonging its shelf life. As curcumin possesses a wide spectrum of biological functions, incorporation of curcumin in ghee helped to improve the functional attributes of ghee due to its antioxidant behaviour and hypocholesterolemic effect.